My Journey to Plant Based
Secondary school (high school)
I made the switch to a vegetarian diet when I was 14. It was pretty easy as I had lots of options at the all you can eat cafeteria at my school and my best friend was a vegetarian so I didn’t feel alone. I began to eat lots of bread and cheese as I wasn't educated on what a healthy diet looks like.
I switched schools for the last 2 years of high school where I didn’t have as many options and no healthy options in the cafeteria and I remember just eating cheesy pasta. I knew I wanted to study nutrition and I wanted to be healthy but I didn’t want to stand out and be different so I ate what I could to fit in. All my friends would eat burgers, fries, meat and cheese sandwiches which would make it difficult for me because people would always ask me why I wasn't eating like them. I didn't have any answers or even understand my reasons back then. I just had intuition.
TIMELINE
The Gap Years
I decided to take a gap year to work and travel before attending University. I was working as a waitress up to 12 hours a day multiple days a week. This took it’s toll on me. I didn’t feel as if I had any time to think about nutrition or healthy eating. I didn’t feel as if I had a purpose, I was just working and hoping to get away at some point. I saved up money and travelled to India for 2 months with a friend. This was a big eye opener for me, I learnt a lot about myself and having time while I was traveling made me realize I definitely wanted to study nutrition and make a positive impact on other peoples lives.
I traveled to Australia by myself for 3 months, and again, it strengthened my desire to study nutrition.
University
I remember sitting in one lecture someone was asked what they had for breakfast, they answered “left over meat pizza from 3am last night”. I was so shocked that the people who had chosen to study nutrition were eating processed, carcinogenic foods. This felt so backwards to me. I felt more alone at University as I was the only person that wanted to eat healthily and acquire the knowledge to do so.
I was surprised that my fellow nutrition students drank and ate junk food, I thought it would be different but I learnt to accept this.
Switching to a completely
plant-based lifestyle
When I was 22 I decided to stop eating eggs and cheese. I no longer looked at dairy products how I used to. I just saw them for what they really are - waste products filled with bacteria and hormones. So I decided to become vegan. This process took a little longer than when I cut out meat, but by no means was it difficult. Once I had the knowledge and reasons why, eating this way became second nature to me.
The Green Switch
In the summer of 2017 something inside me altered again, just like it did when I stopped eating meat and then stopped eating dairy, I chose to eat more raw whole plant foods. I limited and stopped eating processed bars and snacks and consume more greens. I am a lover of smoothies and salads, I never guessed I would be saying this 5 years ago. I’ve always liked them but never craved them like I do now.
Learning about veganism as a whole
After deciding to eat a mostly raw vegan diet I started to think about the environmental, ethical and humane issues that come with the non-vegan lifestyle. I felt as if I wanted to educate others on how to make the changes that I made and how they too could feel as great as I do eating a highly raw plant based diet.